Exceptional staff recognised at 2024 UC Awards

Elly Mackay

13 December 2024: University of Canberra professional and academic staff members have been recognised for their outstanding achievements at the 2024 UC Awards.

The awards ceremony, hosted on campus yesterday, recognises staff who have gone above and beyond – with 21 winners across the categories of research, teaching, and professional excellence.

The recognition celebrates the University community and the staff who embody the UC Values and dedicate themselves to making a difference in the lives of students and colleagues.

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners.

2024 AWARD WINNERS

Professional Awards

The Professional Staff Awards recognise both individuals and teams who contribute to our inclusive culture, strategic direction, and operational success. They champion a workplace that collaborates and connects. These awards were presented by Chief Operating Officer, Jonathan Pheasant.

Mana-Mangi Djara ‘Industrious’ Star Award

Winner: Abbey Cubitt, Marketing

Ms Cubitt has demonstrated initiative and support of the University’s Indigenous Leadership Strategy. Recognising that increasing Indigenous student enrolment was a key focus area of the strategy, she reached out to the Office of Indigenous Leadership to ask, ‘how can Marketing help?’. This resulted in a dynamic Indigenous Student Recruitment Campaign, designed to open doors to higher education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Belonging Award

Winner: Dr Jenny Weekes, Medical and Counselling

Since mid-2017, Dr Weekes has been the driving force behind a partnership of health practitioners, legal practitioners, and law academics at the University of Canberra to provide a pro bono legal service on campus. This initiative, now known as the Citizen Centred Justice Legal Clinic , has not only provided access to justice for hundreds of vulnerable members of the University and patient communities, but has also offered an important teaching and learning opportunity for law and justice studies students in a safe and accessible environment.

Connected Award

Winner: Jan Shaddock, Centre For A Better Canberra

Ms Shaddock has exemplified the spirit of Connected above and beyond the requirements of her role at the Centre She has worked across faculties, business units, with staff, students and the broader community to give life to Connected to Canberra, a core objective of UC’s decadal strategy. Beyond her Civic Leadership role, Ms Shaddock has delved into other elements of Connected – she’s been an active participant in the UC Sport Strategy working group and played a role in the UC Sustainability Steering Committee, as well as supporting elements of the UC Research Plan.

Professional Excellence Award

Winner: Sylvia Nilsson, Faculty of Health

For the last 10 years Ms Nilsson has been Clinical Laboratory Coordinator for the disciplines of Nursing and Midwifery. A registered nurse with a passion for excellence in education, Ms Nilsson’s colleagues say that she consistently demonstrates a commitment to facilitating the best educational experience possible for students and staff. As leader of a team of Nursing and Midwifery technical officers, she coordinates the planning and delivery of clinical skills workshops for over 500 undergraduate nursing and midwifery students each semester.

Highly Commended: Simon Adams, Digital, Information and Technology Management Team

Emerging Leader

Winner: Kelly McEwan, Future Students Office

Ms McEwan conducts herself with great integrity, acting ethically and honestly, and is always building confidence and credibility within the Future Students Office. She is collaborative and will seek input from others, promoting an inclusive and safe environment where diverse views are supported. These qualities enable Ms McEwan to cultivate strong relationships and create positive outcomes for the team and business unit.

Professional Team Excellence Award

Winner: Global Admissions Practice Team

In 2024, the Future Students Office at the University of Canberra faced unprecedented challenges due to significant changes in government policies and ministerial directives. Amid these shifting dynamics, the Global Admissions Team rose to the occasion, balancing risk management, quality assurance, and revenue generation through several initiatives. Their performance was critical in safeguarding the university’s operational integrity and global reputation.

Highly Commended: Student Recruitment Team, for the project ‘UC and Cricket ACT Partnering for Success in India’

Teaching Awards and Citations

The Teaching Awards recognise high quality teaching practices and outstanding contributions to student learning, by individuals and teams. These award winners play an important role in demonstrating the University’s commitment to scholarship and recognition in relation to learning and teaching, and continuous improvement in teaching practices. This year, four new awards were added to this category, recognising the dynamic landscape of teaching and learning, and to better represent the diverse and innovative practice of education at the University.

Professor Tamsin Kelly, Director Education and Student Experience, presented the awards.

UC Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Award

Winner: Dr Aya Hussein, Faculty of Science and Technology

Dr Hussein developed an adaptive approach for embracing GenAI in education, based on TEQSA guidelines and UC’s GenAI adoption policy while also demonstrating strong reflective practice, Design Thinking, and a well-planned framework for integration.

Commendation: Dr Robin Ladwig, Faculty of Business, Government and Law

UC Online Education and Student Experience Award

Winner: Dr Ben Ennis-Butler, Faculty of Arts and Design and Helena Walker, Learning and Teaching

Dr Ennis-Butler and Ms Walker collaborated to create two core first-year Bachelor of Design units for online delivery, focusing on authentic experiential learning. The project demonstrated creativity, imagination, and a positive impact on student learning.

Commendation: Gem Clutton, Faculty of Education and Meredith Millard, Learning and Teaching

UC Innovation Award – the selection panel decided to award two winners this year

Winner: Dr Erin Hinton, Faculty of Arts and Design

As part of a project with the Centre for a Better Canberra, Dr Hinton implemented project-based learning focused on the nexus of teaching, research, and engagement, enabling students to achieve new perspectives, methods of engagement, and professional leadership skills which will help them in their future careers.

Winner: Associate Professor Julian Raxworthy, Faculty of Arts and Design

Associate Professor Raxworthy’s HUB Uplift Project enhanced learning through authentic assessment and transformed a significant campus space through collaboration with honours program students and Campus Estate, implementing student Hugh Swann’s design. This project also received a national award from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.

UC Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning - the selection panel decided to award two winners this year

Winner: Macey Barratt, Faculty of Health

Ms Barratt is recognised for the following teaching Citation: ‘Innovative approaches to enhancing student engagement, learning and retention within undergraduate nursing’.

Winner: Dr Rahmatollah Amirjani, Faculty of Arts and Design

Dr Amirjani is recognised for the following teaching Citation: ‘Increasing student engagement, motivation, and productivity through innovative student-centred learning within the discipline of architecture’.

UC Awards for Programs that Enhance Learning

Winner: Assistant Professor Richa Awasthy, Associate Professor Ahmed Imran, and Jeanette Cotterill, Faculty of Science and Technology

This team prepares future-ready information technology graduates to meet industry demand through the ITS Capstone Program’s emphasis on real-world projects which contribute to industry and society.

UC Citations for Teaching Excellence – the panel decided to award a commendation and two winners this year

Winner: Assistant Professor Richa Awasthy, Faculty of Science and Technology

Assistant Professor Awasthy demonstrated excellence through a strong social constructivist approach in her work to create inclusive and engaging learning environments through authentic assessment, improving graduate skills and increasing student employability.

Winner: Dr Yibe Alem, Faculty of Science and Technology

Dr Alem demonstrated excellence through innovative contributions that have significantly enhanced learning and teaching at UC, particularly through development of a Virtual Lab (VL) for teaching practical activities and a novel assessment design framework to effectively integrate collaborative learning.

Commendation: Dr Rachel M. Campbell, Faculty of Arts and Design

Research Excellence Awards

The Research Excellence Awards recognise outstanding achievements in areas of research, Higher Degree by Research supervision, engagement, and impact. They are a celebration of the important roles contributing to the excellence of the University’s research activities and outputs.

These awards were presented by Professor Michelle Lincoln, Interim Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic.

Early Career Research Excellence

Winner: Dr Jee Young Lee, Faculty of Arts and Design

Dr Young Lee is a core member of the News and Media Research Centre and the School of Arts and Communication. She has transitioned from PhD candidate to senior researcher, and is also a respected Senior Lecturer in the Faculty. Since 2020 she has been involved in 22 research projects, and her research outputs include 42 journal articles and 29 research reports/public submissions.

Research Excellence

Winner: Professor Sotiris Vardoulakis, Faculty of Health

Professor Vardoulakis is a Professor of Environmental Public Health and Director of the Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) Global Research Centre. He has over 25 years of experience in environmental public health science, policy and education, academia, research, local and national government, and consultancy internationally. Since 2022, Sotiris has published 46 peer-reviewed journal papers.

Excellence in HDR Supervision

Winner: Dr Nasser Bagheri, Faculty of Health

Dr Bagheri’s energy, passion, and commitment to supervision are evident in the time and effort he invests in his candidates. His guidance is instrumental in developing research skills, career planning, innovation and engagement within his PhD candidates. He currently supervises nine candidates – five as a primary supervisor.

Outstanding Team Achievement in Research or Enterprise

Winner: First Nations Collaborative Research Web, Faculty of Arts and Design – Dr Wendy Somerville, Dr Lisa Fuller, Ashley van den Heuvel, Andi Stapp-Gaunt, Delephene Fraser

The First Nations Collaborative Research Web (Web) is a new collective of Early Career researchers with Indigenous perspectives and methodologies at the heart of their research. They are at the forefront of anticolonial and creative research methods and practices in Australia. They already have several research projects underway, including collaborations with colleagues at the University of Wollongong and Edith Cowan University.

Excellence in Research Engagement and Impact – Individual

Winner: Dr Abu Barkat ullah, Faculty of Science and Technology

Dr Barkat ullah has made significant strides in the advancement of cyber security research and engagement, contributing to both industry and academia. His collaboration with industry and leadership in various projects reinforces his standing as a critical enabler of industry change. His commitment to inclusive research through engagement with underrepresented communities, and his role as a founding steering committee member of the Canberra Cyber Hub all contribute to his recognition in this area.

Excellence in Research Engagement and Impact – Team

Winner: Environmental Physiology Research Laboratory, Faculty of Health – Dr Brad Clark, Dr Harry Brown, Professor Julien Periard

The Environmental Physiology Research Laboratory’s integrative research program has produced 38 publications and has been cited over 2300 times since 2022. A distinctive feature of the Environmental Physiology Research Laboratory is its engagement with international sporting federations, along with its links to national organisations. These highlight the international reputation of the team and its high-quality translation work, which directly impact the health and wellbeing of different end-users across the sporting spectrum.